


The Different Path

by Bill_Cipher666



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: I update whenever I can but I am busy and have no time in my life I will try and update once a week, The first chapter is bad but it does get better, This is an AU were Stan and Ford actually communicate for once, This is an idea that I couldn't get out of my head, please comment, please read this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-17 05:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 5,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16968357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bill_Cipher666/pseuds/Bill_Cipher666
Summary: This is an AU where instead of keeping it a secret Stan goes to Ford about his project.  This is my first fanfic.





	1. Chapter 1

"This is all your fault you dumb machine, " Stan said pounding the table. The vent at the bottom fell off. "Oh no, what did I do!" Stan went to his house in a panic. He ran up to his room where his brother Ford was asleep. "Ford you have to wake up" stan yelled. 

"What is it?" Ford grumbled.

"Don't get mad, but I think I may have broken your project"

"WHAT!!!!" exclaimed Ford instantly awake. "I WORKED SO LONG!!"

"Do you think that you can fix it?" Stan asked, preparing for the worst.

"It depends what kind of damage you dealt. So what it to the internal components or the armor of the machine itself?"

Stan blinked "Poindexter, I have no idea what you just said." Ford facepalmed.

"Let's just go and see" A few minutes later they were there. Ford inspected the machine. He shot a glare at Stan and then got to work on the machine. Half an hour later he finished. With a final reprimand to his brother, he covered his project and they headed out.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Chapter 2

Ford woke up eagerly. Today was the day. He got ready, making sure his bow tie was straight. He did not normally dress up, but today was a special occasion and he wanted to make sure he made a good impression. He glanced at his sleeping brother. He had thought of what had happened that night and had forgiven Stanley. Stanley had supported him all his life and even though he didn't want Ford to leave, there was no way that Stan had done this on purpose. 

"Poor Stan" Ford thought. "I am the only friend he really has" He picked up an old drawing that Stan had done years ago. He smiled at the memories it brought back. "Man, he really was bad at drawing, I look like a blob and the boat looks like a misshapen whale." Ford thought, smiling. His mood saddened at the thought that their childhood dream would never come to pass. He had changed since that day on glass shard beach and he wanted more. He wondered what his brother would do when he was gone. Everyone thought he was useless and that Ford was the perfect twin. Yet Stanley could do something that Ford could never do no matter how much he tried. Stan was incredible at persuasion. He could speak in public and convince everyone that the sky was plaid. Ford had tried to get him to join their school's debate club but Stan had snorted saying "Those losers, debate people are weirdos that spend their time looking up statistics and reading current events. I will spend my time on the Stan-o-war thank you very much" Despite this statement he had stood in when a spar member got sick on the day of the tournament. He won second place that day and was proud of his certificate. He framed it that day. Their dad had scoffed at the paper the next day. Stanley was crushed, not because of what he had said, but that when Stan had accidentally knocked over one of Fords trophies, their dad had reminded him that Fords awards were special and should be cared for. Ford winced at the memory. He often felt guilty about being the favorite child. Stan tried to pretend that it didn't hurt him, but Ford could tell it wounded him to be the ignored child. 

Ford quietly grabbed his notecards trying not to wake his brother. Despite his efforts to be a ninja, he tripped and brought down an entire shelve of books on him. "Oh no, it couldn't be Stans shelf," Ford thought grumpily "It had to be my hardcover science collection"

"What's the big idea sixer" Stan grumbled. "Some of us are tired after last night" He stretched and then saw Ford buried under a pile of books. He burst out laughing. 

 

Two pairs of feet came pounding up the steps. Their parents burst into their room. "What happened!" Their mother cried. She began uncovering Ford from his grave of knowledge. Stan stopped laughing immediately hoping to avoid a lecture. Lucky they were to focused on Ford to even notice that he was in the room. Perfect Ford, he could do no wrong. Obviously, anything that happened had to be the fault of the devil child Stanley. The screw-up. He shook his head, trying to stop that path. It wasn't Fords fault. He needed to stop this was of thinking. He didn't want to poison their friendship. He slipped downstairs to start up a batch of pancakes. This was Ford's day to shine, he should have a good breakfast. He had accepted it last night. Ford was most likely going away. He didn't want to have him leave on bad terms. He glanced out the window to where he could see the ocean. They may not go on an epic adventure of a lifetime, but he had the memories of a childhood of fun, and maybe that was enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Stan finished flipping the pancakes and looked up to see Ford coming down. He evidently had been unburied, although he was battered and would likely bruise badly latter. He chuckled to himself. Leave it to Ford to pull a tsunami of books on him on the biggest day of his life. He started to assemble a plate in silence. "Look." Ford started to say.

"Stop," Stan said. "Let me go first. I'm sorry about last night. And here," He dramatically brandished the plate. "have some apology pancakes" 

Ford smiled, "It's all right, I know it wasn't on purpose"

"You better eat up poindexter, those guys will be coming soon and you just might want to be there." A look of panic flashed crossed Fords face. 

"Stan! I forgot my notecards!" Ford said horrified.

"I got it," Stan said running for the steps.

 

Ford bit his nails, a habit he had supposed to have broken a long time ago. He got up and started pacing. A vivid imagination began to show him lots of scenarios that ended very badly. He tried practicing his speech but could not remember a thing. This was it, the big day, the moment that would change his life forever. He would either get in or die of shame. What if he did badly? What if the machine had broken again? What if the judges were not impressed. Stan came clomping down startling Ford out of his thoughts. He silently handed the cards to Ford.

"Alright, now we are going to practice your speech once and then you ditch these," Stan announced.

"Stanley, I need these cards" Ford exclaimed. "They have my whole speech on them!"

"Ford, buddy, do you know just how unprofessional it would be to have these with you?" Stan said pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look just leave them, we have time to go over it once before we leave." Ten minutes later Ford left. Stan had started to come, but Ford worried about how that would make him look, had convinced him to stay. When he arrived, he saw that the school was already open. He entered hoping that he was not late. He snuck over to his project and checked it. It would be stupid to dramatically unveil it without looking at it. What if something had happened. To his relief, the project was untouched and was still steadily swinging. He waited. Twenty minutes later the people from the university arrived at his project. He glanced at their clipboard and saw that none of the names on there had made it. His was the only name left uncrossed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, it has been a while since I wrote this. It has been up for ONE DAY and it has like twice as many views as it did on wattpad, and it has been on there for months

Ford took a deep breath. "What if I told you the future of science was under this sheet?" He dramatically pulled the piece of cloth of his project. As he revealed the machine, the representatives looked confused. 

"Soooo, what is it?" the lead representative asked. Ford internally screamed. This was going terribly, they already hated it. 

"It's a perpetual motion machine" Ford stammered. "It will never stop moving, this is a huge breakthrough in the laws of physics." Suspicious, the representatives made him show them his blueprints, even disassemble it to prove it was not run on a battery. 

"We are going to put you on our list, your interviews and test will begin next week" they finally said. In a daze, Ford nodded. They left and Ford was left alone in the gym. Finally, he shook himself, he had to get home. This wasn't the admission he had wanted, but he was getting closer. All he needed to do is pass those tests. Oh, and do an interview. An interview........................... Nope, Ford did not want to think about that. He started home, to save money and pull his thoughts together he walked. He had forgotten that the project was only the first step. Now they would check his school records, then he would take a variety of tests, and finally, they would interview him. There was just one more problem. The money. West Coast tech was not an easy school to get into and it was not cheap either. Not only that but there were books to think of, and rent, he had to move out. And transportation, and food, Ford did not relish the idea of living on ramen for years. He looked again at his brochure. Things would work out. He would find a way to make the money.

"If you even get in," Ford thought. He might fail his tests, or mess up on his interview. And what if his grades were not good enough, there was that one time he got a b, HE GOT A B ON HIS TEST. He was going to fail that step, he was going to that local school Backupsmore. He was never ever going to be a famous scientist. He almost yelled, he had worked so hard. He bit his lip, he didn't want to look crazy, well more crazy. He was a freak already, he didn't need any help in that regard. He looked at his hand than clenched it into a fist and shoved it into his pocket. Along with his hand, he also shoved the memories down. He didn't need replays of being bullied. What he did need was some peace and quiet to prepare for his tests and interviews.


	5. Chapter 5

Ford arrived at home. He had been gone for a while, much longer then Stan had expected. He looked nervous. What had happened? Maybe he didn't get a chance to speak. Stan cleared his throat. "Hey, what's the word Sixer?" Stan asked. He got up of the couch and tossed the paddleball on the floor. "How did you do?"

"Well," Ford hesitated. "I actually don't know."

"What do you mean?" Stan asked concern creasing his face. 

"Well, I made the list, but now they are going to look at my grade history. If I pass that bit then I do entry tests and an interview." Ford sighed and slumped on the couch. "I just don't know if I will even get passed their grade checks."

Stan stared " Ford you do realize you have the highest grade point average in the school, you are going to be this year's valedictorian, what on earth are you worried about?" 

Ford let a melancholy groan out. " Remember last year, that time we had to give an oral report in front of the class?"

Stan laughed. "Yeah I remember, good times," He thought back to when he had "forgotten" AKA didn't read, To Kill a Mockingbird resulting in him giving a speech on cooking techniques of said fowl. 

"So you know what grade I got on it right" Ford checked. 

"All I know is that it was higher than mine." Stan snorted.

"I got a A-, Stanley, not only that but in ninth grade, I failed the essay portion of that one test, apparently 'I missed the meaning'." Ford said with his face in his hands. 

" Well Ford, that's because you put that blind ambition wasn't whats-his-buckets downfall. You actually said that he didn't work hard enough." Stan said. "I mean, he literally worked so hard he died in the end." 

Ford started. " Hey if he had really wanted- oh nevermind it doesn't matter now." 

Stan looked at Ford unimpressed. He could practically hear the sad violins playing. It annoyed Stan greatly when Ford complained about grades that Stan would kill for. It wasn't that Ford was showing off, but sometimes it sure felt like it. He rolled his eyes. What was enough for Ford, straight A's? Well, yeah, that was probably it. Ford would weep over a B while Stan would be proud to get one. Not their parents though, they would just remind him that Ford got A's. Whatever Stan did would never be enough, he could just never be as good as his brother. He knew this because of all the times his father said this to him, he made sure that Stan would never forget it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think that this is one of the better chapters. Tell me what you think in the comments!

Ford opened his book, he was going to fail, he just knew it. The tests were in three days and he had not completely memorized everything. The room was darkening, he turned on the lights wincing at their harsh illumination. He had been studying for hours but it was not enough. He wondered for a moment if it was possible to just boot sleep again. Why were there not enough hours in a day? Sleep was a waste of time better used for study and work. If only he was allowed coffee...... His mother called him for dinner. Ford groaned. 

"I will be down in a moment" Ford called knowing full well that he would work through meal time. He turned back to his thick textbook examining the inner workings of a plant cell. He had to review all of ninth grade biology if he wanted to keep on schedule. Guess this was going to be an allnighter. He wondered if this was going to be a regular thing. Probably would be once he started college. If he started college.........

It would be logical to stop worrying and keep studying, however, at stressful times Ford was anything but logical. "I am literally going to die if I don't get into this college." Ford thought. He closed his eyes to quiz himself. 

Suddenly Ford woke up. He looked at the clock in a rush. Only ten minutes had passed. He breathed a sigh of relief before going back to his textbook. Diligence was of the utmost importance. Hours passed as he moved through chapters. He looked at the clock but could hardly focus on the hands. He turned around to ask his brother what time it was but saw an empty bed. Huh, Stan must have gone down to sleep on the couch again. He squinted and after a few minutes of concentration he saw that it was passed 2. He stumbled to bed shocked that it had gotten so late. Sleep was such a waste, but he did need it. He vowed to himself that he would wake up early for some much-needed study. 

Stan turned over, it was so uncomfortable. Why was their couch so lumpy? He sighed. It might even be better to just go up to the room. He sighed, most likely what would happen is that he would get in trouble for "distracting" his brother. And it wouldn't be any use to ask him to go to sleep, Ford kept insisting that sleep was a waste of time. But most likely Stan would not have to deal with that problem soon. As soon as Ford went to school, he would have the room to himself. But as tired as he was, it would be worse to have the room empty, than to have it junked up with his brother's notes. He would rather have his brother than 8 hours of sleep any day. He was going to lose him. And even if he did not go to college there was still the boat hanging over them. Ford had moved on from it. Stan, well he hadn't. It wasn't the boat he wanted to hang on to. It was his childhood. Growing up terrified him, especially without his best friend. He wasn't ready to let go of his younger self. It seemed that somewhere along the line Ford had. Stan didn't want to be left behind, but he didn't want to abandon his dream yet. That drove Ford crazy. Stan could not put into words exactly what it was that made him want to stay the same. And that is what had started to drive them apart. Stan was surprised to feel a tear run down his cheek. He didn't want to part with Ford with this gap between them. He let his thoughts drift back through the years, back to when they were still joined at the hip. Perhaps there was a way to move on without abandoning those happy years. Stan went to sleep as the plan knitted itself together.

As Ford slept, he dreamed of times past. The good memories, the bad, and he smiled to see him and his brother run through the sand, unaware of what would happen many years in the future.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was a really hard chapter to write, due to the feels

Stan woke up early for his preparations. He wanted this to bring them together and to clear the air before Poindexter had to go away. He needed to be on good terms with him. Then he walked into their shared room. 

Ford was in bed. Would miracles never cease? He had probably been studying really late. He shook him awake anyway. 

"Sixer, get up. Come on I have something to show you."

Ford stretched blearily. "What is it, Stanley?"

"Just come on"

Stan led him out of the house. They came out into the sandy ground.

Ford stopped and turned to Stan. "Seriously, where are we going?"

"I told you, you shall see."

They came to Glass Shard Beach and went to the dock where the Stan-o-war was waiting. Stan held up his hands. "Now this is not what you think it is. I came to....let go. Not that I am giving up on our dream. It's more like, putting it on hold. I know that when you get into your fancy school that we will not be able to sail. And dad will most likely kick me out as soon as we turn 18. But, before you go, I want you to know that I will move on. I won't nag about having our adventure of a lifetime, because I know that now you are wanting a different adventure. And I will respect that."

Ford was holding back tears. It was so hard to believe that Stan was doing this for him. He had been working and dreaming of this trip for most of their shared childhood. And Stan had wanted to get out of the house as quickly as possible. Now, he was going to give it all up, just so Ford could go to school and pursue his dream.

Stan continued. "Now don't think that you are going to get out of this that easily. We will eventually have a trip of a lifetime. But go to your nerdy-pants school first. For now, I think we need to say goodbye to the Stan-o-war"

He paused then started again. " Originally I wanted to set it on fire then push it out, but we would probably get in trouble for that. So, on three we shove it out, then maybe someone might find it and have their own adventure that we can't."

On the count of three, they pushed the boat out. And, sitting together on the docks, they watched Stan-o-war and their old dream drift away into the distance.


	8. Chapter 8

Without a word, they got up and left for home. They had their regular lives to get to. Once they got home, Stan was set to work. Ford was asked a million questions about how he did and such. As soon as they found out that he was going to be interviewed, they gave him whatever he needed to help him prepare. But it didn't matter what Ford got, he just did not know how to interview. His strengths were with academics, not people. He smiled falsely and went up to his room. A few minutes later, Stan came in, evidently done with the work he was given.

"So Sixer," Stan began. "Hows about we start practicing for this interview, you have done enough studying for the test. Now you need to practice."

Ford was relieved. His parents may have given him cards with questions on it, they may have gotten a voice recorder, but nothing compared to practicing with a live human being. Especially if this human being could pass this interview with his eyes closed.

For the next hour, Stan played the part of the interviewer, asking him questions while Ford answered them to the best of his abilities. Every now and then, Stan paused and gave him tips. Advice on his tone, posture, and what information to leave out. At the end of the practice session, Ford was feeling twice as confident and half as nervous. Stan really did know how to talk. He could seriously make a career out of that.

"Great job Poindexter, the interviewers won't know what hit them!"

"Hopefully it won't be you!" Ford joked.

"Hey, but if they don't let you in, it might just be me!"

They laughed as they descended the steps. Stan stopped immediately when he saw his dad. Filbrick usually did not need much of a reason to tell Stan off. Stan snuck off, not that he needed to be very quiet, his parents had eyes only for his brother. He didn't really know where he was going, he just wanted to be out of the house. He was going to move out soon, he really wanted to do it before his father kicked him out. His dad was waiting to do it, probably waiting till Stan was 18 and it was legal. Stan had seen the duffle bag in the closet. It was already packed. He wasn't sure what he had done. He tried his best, he had done what he could to make his parents proud. Nothing worked. According to Filbrick, his accomplishments didn't matter, just his screw-ups. One time he had tried to polish his medallion for fathers day, but he had accidentally broken the case. He had tried to hide his mistake, but eventually, his dad had found out. He had been grounded for the rest of the summer for that incident.

He just wanted to be free.

His parents had not expected twins, they had not known that they had two sons until the delivery. Ford had been born first and then Stan. Filbrick had been sure to remind Stan that he was the unexpected, unwanted one. He had never been allowed to forget it.

His brother was loved. He had all the shiny medals and ribbons and certificates. People talked about him, saying things like "that kid is a genius!" He got so much positive attention. People loved him. 

And Stan, well, he was the geniuses screw-up brother. No one cared about him. And now that Ford was going to leave, he had no friends, nobody that cared. He didn't know what he was going to do. He had heard what the principal had said, no one believed in him.

Well, he was going to prove them all wrong, he was going to graduate. He was going to have a high school diploma. After that, he would get his own place. He would get a job or start his own business. He was going to be more successful than "Pines Pawns" had ever been. Most likely, he wasn't going to get any help. His parents had set aside a fund for Ford, but he had never seen one for him. But that didn't matter, he would find a way. He wasn't even doing this so his parents would be proud, he had given up on that years ago. When he was rich and famous, he would be able to say that he had done this with no help. His parents might come to him for help eventually. When that happened, he knew exactly what he was going to say: "I will give you exactly as much help as you gave me when I was starting out"

Then later in life, when they were both retired, when they had achieved their dreams, then maybe, they could go sailing.

Because out at sea, no one cared if you had six fingers. And no one cared if you weren't a genius.


	9. Testing

Ford walked into the test room. It had finally come to this. He had been studying for the last few days and he was sure that he was going to fail. An attendant welcomed him in. He looked around. This was being held in his school gym, a room that gave him anxiety regardless of if it was a test or dodgeball. 

No one else was there. Evidently, his guess that he was the only one that impressed them had been correct. His heart beat faster and faster. He could hear it pounding in his ears, just like in The Tell-Tale Heart. He sat down at his seat. An enormous pack was in front of him, easily twice the size of the SAT he had taken the year before. One of the representatives started doing the required speech about test ethics. Then it was time. First was the math section. It was ridiculously easy. He filled bubble after bubble. Despite the problems being easy, there were just so many. He bearly finished within the time limit. His anxiety just got worse. Throughout the sections, he knew everything, but the time was way too short. He had expected a break for lunch, but he just kept getting more and more sections of the test.

Near the end, he lost his concentration, he slowed down and had to guess on a lot of them just to get every question answered. He was thinking blearily and had most likely missed a lot of them. When he finally finished the essay, he was let out of the gym. He knew that he couldn't walk home. Despite no physical activity, he was tired. He borrowed the school phone.

“Hey Stanley, can you pick me up?”

“Yeah sure, you’re at the school right?”

Ford slowly nodded before he realized what he was doing.

“Uhh yeah, I’m at the school, at the front entrance.”

“Sixer, is something wrong?”

Ford had to think for a few minutes before he could understand what Stan was asking.

“Yes, I’m fine, it was just a really brutal test.”

“I’ll be right there”

Stan had sounded worried. That would probably mean that he had meant what he said about being “Right There”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this is short. Story time: I was actually planning on publishing this yesterday. Now, I usually write this through wattpad and then copy the text into AO3. But, wattpad doesn't save very well. So I was writing and was around 600 words when the wifi failed.
> 
> I lost everything. So I had to rewrite it. This bit was going to be half of the chapter, but I thought that I would just publish what I had got to so far. I will try to have the next part out tomorrow.
> 
> Happy Holidays peeps!


	10. Not a chapter sorry 😞

Ok, so I really wanted to do a chapter for Christmas. However, I am really sick. I am not feeling well enough to update, and it might be a few days till I can get anouther chapter out.  
Iḿ really sorry. And Happy Holidays!


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I´m back by the mercy of Advil. Here´s the rest of the chapter I lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh. I checked stats and we are at 300 veiws for this story. Three. Hundred. Views.   
> This may not seem like much to some people, but it is about five times as many as I got on watpad.   
> I wanted to celebrate, so I am doing a Q and A. Because I really could not think of anything else.   
> So submit your questions via comment and you have got until the end of the year.  
> Thanks for reading my story(:

Ford blearily sat down to wait. Something wasn't right. His exhaustion was somehow different. He so a car approaching from far away. The driver was going at least twice the speed limit and was running lights. Yup, that was Stanley. He winced, the honking seemed unusually loud.

Stan turned at ridiculously fast speeds and then parked. Ford got up to get in, even that gave him pounding pains in his head and almost made him pass out. Stan helped him into the car and set off for home, at a more reasonable speed. Stan may have said something, but Ford missed it, he was shacking, the car just felt so cold. He foggely seemed to recognize that they had reached home. He went to unbuckle his seatbelt, but then the world turned to a swirl of colors then went black.

Stan shook his head, crazy Poindexter had probably stayed up too late or something. Now he had gotten himself sick, just like Stan had warned him. He picked the skinny nerd up and swung him over his shoulder. He walked in the house ignoring glares from his good old parents. They would most likely to find a way to pin this on him. Whatever nothing really changed. He stomped up the stairs to the room. He put Ford in his bed, made some Ramon for when he woke up and picked up a comic to read. 

Around fifteen issues later, Ford finally awoke. He groaned and sat up.

¨What happened?¨

¨Well sixer, you worked yourself way too hard for the last week and then proceeded to do a 12-hour test without breaks or breakfast. And people say you´re a genius.¨

Ford blinked, seemingly trying to comprehend what his brother was saying.

Stan sighed, ¨You got sick, stupid¨  
Ford just laid back down wincing.  
¨So, did you carry me up?¨  
¨Sure did. Hey, want some food.¨ Stan held out the bowl and Ford quietly accepted.  
¨How did dad take that?¨  
Stan snorted in disgust.  
¨He seemed to be trying to kill me without standing up, if he had laser eyes, then I would be in trouble. But what else is new.¨  
¨Stan, I am so sorry that dad treats you like this.¨  
¨Ok, enough talk about this, it just makes you feel bad. Dad loves who he loves. I gave up a long time ago to try and make him proud. I am just not good enough for him it seems.¨  
They both went silent, each knowing that Stan wasn't being completely honest.


	12. Sorry,but I have some bad news

So friends here we are again. I have had quite a day, and, sadly with it comes some bad news. First of all, I got sick again, I feel like I am dying. And second, my cat just died. I am very sad about this, and I am having a hard time doing anything. I have had my cat, Oreo, for about 10 years. He was my best friend. I´m having a hard time living without him. I don´t know when I will update again. This is not on hiatus, I will get to it when I can.

That's all peeps, I hope to write again soon.


End file.
